• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Oil Shale, 2003, Vol. 20, No. 1 ISSN 0208-189X pp. 81-92 © 2003 Estonian Academy Publishers REVIEW GLOBAL OIL SHALE ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES SYNTHESIS OF THE SYMPOSIUM ON OIL SHALE HELD IN TALLINN (ESTONIA) ON 18 AND 19 NOVEMBER 2002 by Dr. K. BRENDOW, World Energy Council, Geneva1 Summary Despite its huge resources, oil shale is an under-utilised energy resource. The reasons comprise competition from cheaper energy sources, heavy front-end investments in mining, electricity generation and refining, and an unfavour- able environmental record. Oil shale has, though, a definite potential for meeting energy demand in an environmentally acceptable manner, enhanc- ing security of supply and supporting the local labour market in a number of countries. Accordingly, after a decline of production since 1980, oil shale’s perspec- tives are seen more positively now: there will be a definite increase of pro- duction in the short term, probably in the medium term and eventually after 2020, when conventional oil resources become scarce. This perspective is prompted by reduced manpower costs, rising demand for electricity, new shale oil products, less polluting and more efficient technologies and an ex- pected change of price relationships between oil shale and conventional hy- drocarbons. Already now experience in Estonia, Brazil, China, Israel and Germany demonstrates that electricity, heat, shale oil, cement, chemicals, construction materials and soil improvers could be produced from oil shale at reasonable, if not competitive, cost. New technologies such as fluidized beds for electric- ity generation or the ATP process for shale oil production raise efficiencies and reduce air and water pollution to sustainable levels. Innovative ap- proaches are applied to waste remediation. Multi-purpose utilisation of the energy and mineral content of oil shale improves its competitiveness. Small- scale applications in cogeneration, cement manufacture and niche markets complement mega-uses in electricity generation and shale oil production. However, these opportunities require efforts • to enhance the industry’s competitiveness in liberalized, global markets • to eliminate the ecological heritage of the past (hazardous waste, water pollution) 1 [email protected] 82 K. Brendow • to reduce emissions from combustion and processing to internationally agreed levels • to raise efficiencies including through multi-purpose uses of oil shale • to cater also for smaller deposits, boilers and markets (small-scale co- generation, extraction of industrial minerals and metals, use of ash in cement, construction materials and binders, niche applications) • to strengthen international cooperative research • to monitor and participate in international research on CO2 while herald- ing the potential of oil shale ash for permanent carbon sequestration • and to set up a common consulting and marketing association promoting the use of oil shale in countries, which have resources but do not use them at present. The Symposium These are the main conclusions resulting from the international “Oil Shale Symposium”, held in Tallinn (Estonia) on 18 and 19 November 2002. The Symposium was held under the auspices of the Tallinn Technical University and, among others, the Member Committee of the World Energy Council for Estonia. The Symposium was the second worldwide event on this energy source since 1968. 230 participants attended it from 13 countries. 41 papers were presented and 35 poster sessions held2. Abstracts of the papers can be ob- tained from Ms. Marit Seepold at [email protected]. A special issue of the Journal “Oil Shale” will be devoted to the event ([email protected]). After the Symposium, study tours were organised to the power genera- tion, oil shale mining and shale oil processing facilities. In the following, a synthesis of the Symposium will be attempted along its three sections on • Oil shale resources, geology and mining • Power generation from oil shale • Oil shale chemistry and technology The names and numbers in square brackets refer to the authors of papers and poster sessions and to the page number of their contribution in the “Ab- stracts”. Other sources used are referred to in the footnotes. 2 the contribution of the WEC consisted of a paper on “Restructuring Estonia’s Oil Shale Industry: What Lessons Do We Learn from the Restructuring of the Coal Industries in Central and Eastern Europe” (K. Brendow) and a presentation of the WEC Survey of Energy Resources (Judy Trinnaman, Alan W. Clarke). Global Oil Shale Issues and Perspectives 83 I. Oil Shale Resources, Geology and Mining a) A Simple Definition for a Complex Mineral Rocks which contain a high proportion of organic matter (kerogen) are cate- gorized as oil shale3. Oil shale is characterized by a low calorific value and high ash and mineral content. This description covers a variety of deposits, encapsulated in various depositional environments [Dyni, 7; Sener et al., 15, 64; Streltsova, 16; Moh’di et al., 15; Lille, 26; Vorobyov et al., 36; Geologi- cal Survey of Israel, 61]. In Estonia, the resource base has been mapped in geological, chemical, technical and environmental terms [Valgma, 20, 57, 58; Vanhally, 31]. X-rays have been used to determine the composition of oil shale [Paat et al., 80]. In view of the variability of the properties of Esto- nian oil shale, an index is proposed to classify the various deposits [Aruküla, 60]. b) A Huge, But Poorly Defined Resource Oil shale “resources” (whether economically recoverable or not) are esti- mated at 1013 or 10 trillion metric tons [Veiderma, 8]. This number depends inter alia on the threshold as of when an oil-bearing rock is considered an “oil shale”. It is not surprising that estimates differ according to countries, extent and time of exploration, and methodology used. The WEC’s triennial “Survey of Energy Resources” attempts at quantifying worldwide resources, reserves and shale oil production and provides country notes [Trinnaman, Clarke, 67]. But oil shale can also be genetically classified [Veski, 68]. Whatever the methodological options and caveats, the resource base is huge, exceeding coal “resources”4, at 7 trill. t5, by 1.5 times. The oil content of this oil shale resource is estimated at 411 bill. t or 2.9 trill. barrels [Dyni, 7]. This exceeds conventional oil “resources” of 271 bill. t or 1.9 trill. barrels6 by more than 50 %. c) Large Distributed Occurrences, Rising Production i. Resources. Oil shale resources occur in many countries, of which 33 pos- sess deposits worth recording. Among those, three countries (USA, Russia, Brazil) account for 86 % of the resource in terms of shale oil content. This seems to indicate that as in the case of conventional oil, oil shale resources are concentrated in a few countries. However, while this is true geologically, economically it is not: due to the size of the occurrences, even “small” de- posits can be huge related to the energy needs of the country concerned. They may also offer more favourable conditions [Dyni, 7]. Estonia is a case 3 World Energy Council, Survey of Energy Resources 1998 and 2001. 4 proved amount in place and estimated additional amount in place according to [5]. 5 WEC, Survey of Energy Resources 1998, table 1.1 and 1.2 i, ii, iii. 6 IEA, World Energy Outlook 2002, p. 97. 84 K. Brendow in point: while its deposits (at 5 × 109 t) are insignificant related to world resources (1013 t) [Veiderma, 8], oil shale covers 60 % of Estonia’s primary energy needs and 90 % of its electricity production. Oil shale production in Estonia, Russia, Scotland, Brazil, China and Germany, 1880 to 2000 50 Germany 45 Maoming 40 Fushun 35 Brazil 30 Scotland 25 Kashpir 20 Leningrad 15 Estonia Metric tons, millions 10 5 0 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 source: Illustration #21 from paper: Origin and Resources of Some World Oil Shale Deposits, by John R. Dyni, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA, presented at the Estonian Oil Shale Symposium, Tallinn, Nov. 18-20, 2002. ii. Production so far. Yet, only few countries utilise this resource. Under the pressure of competition, oil shale production has ceased in Canada, Scotland, Sweden, France, Australia (where it restarted in 1999), Romania7 and South Africa, and has not taken off in the USA, Belarus, Jordan and Morocco. World production fell from its peak in 1980 (46 mill. t) to about 16 mill. t in 2000. At present, the major producer is Estonia with 12.3 mill. t (2002) (electricity generation and shale oil production), followed by Brazil (trans- portation fuels), Germany (cement and construction materials), China (fu- els), Australia (fuels), Russia and Israel (electricity) [Dyni, 7]. iii. Production perspectives: In the short-term, till 2006, world oil shale production may well increase under the impact of developments in Estonia, the major producer. After a significant rise during 1993–19998, prices for oil shale have recently fallen [Adamson et al., 11] due to mine closures and mergers, new mining equipment such as continuous miners [Nikitin, 32, 58], 7 In Anina, in the Carpathian Mountains, a 330-MW oil shale power plant became operational in 1984. It needed 18–20 % of start-up fuel oil. The planned capacity was 3 × 330 MW. In 1989 the plant was shut down (Communication by Prof. Calin Mihaileanu, Bucharest). 8 Ministry of Economic Affairs, Estonian Energy 1991-2000, p. 74. Global Oil Shale Issues and Perspectives 85 and staff reductions. Costs are likely to fall further due to early retirement 9 and voluntary departure programmes (2000–2004: – 32 % ). According to a baseline scenario quoted by the Government’s “Restructuring Plan of Esto- nian Oil-Shale Sector”, production is expected to increase by 46 %, from 11.6 mill. t in 2000 to 16.99 mill. t in 2006. This is due to increased electric- ity demand, the coming on stream of a further shale oil plant and the possible opening of a new opencast mine [Kattel, 59].

Load more

  12

Copy Link